Happ Wednesday, MarketWatchers! Check out today’s top personal finance stories.
Only two fast-food restaurants received ‘A’ grades for banning antibiotics in beef
A new report comes down hard on companies, including McDonald’s and Burger King, over how they source the meat they serve to consumers.
Don’t panic when you don’t win the Mega Millions—follow these steps to financial freedom instead
The $900 million lottery draw on Friday will be the second-largest in U.S. history.
Pet owners will spend nearly half a billion dollars on animal costumes this Halloween
The amount of money spent on outrageous pet outfits has more than doubled since 2010.
Why the poorest Americans are most likely to be prescribed opioids
In the reboot of ‘Roseanne,’ the eponymous matriarch’s death was explained by an opioid overdose.
The U.S. housing recovery is built on quicksand
Weak home sales volume is a serious warning sign, writes Keith Jurow.
Mega Millions jackpot nears $1 billion, so what time is the drawing?
Mega Millions jackpot leaps to an estimated $868 million.
My wife and her sister bought a house for their mother—then it all went wrong
These two daughters contributed $25,000 each to the down payment.
Mega Millions jackpot needs to hit $1 billion before more wealthy people decide to play
Research suggests there’s a tipping point where high earners spend more on lottery tickets than more than low earners.
Neighbors of lottery winners are more likely to go bankrupt
Here’s the right way to compare yourself to others financially.
How hackers can steal your vote this election season
Hacking the voting booth is just one way to influence the result.
Elsewhere on MarketWatch U.S. Treasury declines to label China a currency manipulator but says recent yuan weakness is a concern
The Treasury Department on Wednesday again declined to label China a currency manipulator but said recent weakness in the yuan was a concern.
The Midwest economy is about to get pummeled again
Manufacturing jobs growth has already stalled, and the trade war will make it worse.
World’s ‘most competitive’ economy: U.S. regains the crown it lost 10 years ago
Once he’s done calling out the AP as “fake news” and slamming Democrats about immigration laws, Donald Trump just might tweet out this story. And he’d have good reason to.
Could Brett Kavanaugh spell the end of the Supreme Court?
Political partisanship threatens the Court’s legitimacy, writes Chris Edelson.
Treasury official arrested for leaking sensitive Paul Manafort bank records
Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards, a 40-year-old senior advisor at FinCEN, was arrested Tuesday, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the FBI. No reporters were charged.
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